The Magic Man
by Lovely-Madness-13
Summary: Growing up, trying to move on from the seemingly gone days of being Lyoko Warriors, Aelita, Jeremie, Odd, Yumi and Ulrich are about to have a very frightening, dark, and magical awakening from their now "normal" lives. J/A, U/Y.
1. Chapter 1

The Magic Man- Chapter 1  
A Code Lyoko Fan Fiction

"I can't believe my father is letting some bozo take over the auditorium for an entire period!"  
A high, furious voice cut across the wreak room chatter like a butter knife, but no one turned around. After all, this was the forth time Elizabeth Delmas had uttered the same statement in the last five minutes. A pretty girl normally, her face was currently contorted in rage as she crossed her arms and glared sulkily at the only two students who were actually paying attention to her. One of them, sandy-haired Nicholas, made the mistake of smiling dully at her.  
"Uh, don't you think it'll be fun, Sissy-"  
"Fun? FUN?" Sissy's shriek made the sound of nails on chalkboard sound like a symphony, and poor Nicholas shrank back. "Are you that thick? Daddy promised we'd have a dance, and instead, he brings in some stupid, second-rate magician that no one's ever heard off, and expects me to just go along with it!"  
Half way across the room, a five other students were sitting in a corner. One, a small petite girl with shocking-pink hair, smiled at the boy next to her, a skinny, tall blonde who was currently fiddling with his glasses. "Do you think the magician will be interesting, Jeremie?"  
The boy in question hesitated, then shrugged. "I've never been to a magic show before. It's all just smoke and mirrors, of course, but it might be entertaining."  
"As long as it's better than Odd's disappearing acts from science class," another boy, his brown bangs falling into his eyes as they always did, sniggered, and elbowed his seat mate. Odd, dressed from head-to toe in purple as always, glared at his best friend and roommate.  
"Oh, shut up, Ulich. You're just jealous. They never noticed I was gone," he added, pretending to stick his nose in the air.  
"Oh, sure they did," said the girl sitting on Ulrick's other side. Her almond shaped eyes crinkled in laughter. "When you're not there, people can actually breathe because they can't smell your feet!"  
General laughter rang out after this, and even Odd, the butt of the joke as usual, giggled.  
Just then, a bell rang, and as one, all five students got to their feet. Ulich grinned at Yumi. "Practice time," he told her, and she grinned back.  
"You mean time for me to kick your butt again," she replied, shoving him playfully.  
"Yeah, but if she hurts you, Ulich," Odd started, smirking slyly. "You could always just get Sissy to kiss your boo-boo all better for you." Ulick made a face and made a half-hearted swing at his friend. "Or maybe Yumi'd do it instead," Odd added, louder, and ran out of the room before the two now red-faced teens tackled him. Behind them, Aelita had to stuff her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing, and Jeremie was sniggering into his laptop.  
"You'd think after being a sophore and a junior in high school, those two'd actually admit they like each other," Jeremie muttered as soon as Yumi and Ulich had vanished, already shouting war-cries while in pursuit of Odd.  
Aelita beamed at him. "Oh, they did," she reminded him, green eyes twinkling. "You weren't there at the Subdigitals concert last Saturday, when, well..." she trailed off, and just winked. Jeremie raised his eyebrows at her.  
"When what?"  
Aelita shook her head, still smiling. "I almost forgot. I promised Yumi I wouldn't tell." She raised a finger to her lips like she was promising a secret. Jeremie watched her, and blushed.  
"Well-uh...when is the next concert anyway?" he asked, trying to change the topic before he turned any more red. He walked to the door, and opened it for her.  
"Next Friday. I was going to ask you to come, but..."Aelita's face fell slightly, but she forced herself to forget about it. "I know you're so busy, applying for colleges already and all." Jeremie winced, and shrugged.  
"It's not that. I should really go see you perform again." He smiled down at her. "And I'm not the only one applying for colleges. You never told me you got accepted to Berkley, all the way in America!" He hesitated, then slid his hand nervously in hers for a moment. "Congratulations!"  
Aelita blushed, wondering vaguely of he could hear how loud her heart suddenly started pounding. She tried to make her suddenly foggy brain work. "Oh...that...Yumi told you? I guess...I haven't written back or anything, but, it's an interesting option. If I want to major in music, that is." She looked sidelong at him. "What do you think I should do?"  
Jeremie blinked, surprised that she was asking him this. "Well, I-uh...Aelita..." Was this a test, he thought wildly? If he answered one way, she'd be mad, or...He hesitated, then went for the chicken answer. "Do what ever you feel is right, I guess." Taking his hand from hers, he spread his arms wide. "The whole world is your oyster, Princess," he said dramatically, grinning at her. Aelita giggled.  
"Yeah, if Odd doesn't eat it first."  
Jeremie smiled, then sobered. "Aelita, you know..." he blushed, unsure of what to say. Her gaze had focused on him, and as usual, he found he couldn't really breathe. "You're so talented, you can do anything." Aelita blushed at this, but he continued. "You're free to do what you want. You always have been."  
To his dismay, her face darkened slightly. "Not always," she said softly, then shook her head. "But that doesn't matter anymore," she added, brightly.  
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, little lady," said a soft voice from behind her. "No one is ever totally free."


	2. Chapter 2

"What-" Aelita spun around, frowning. No one was behind her. Jeremie stopped walking, and reached out to her.  
"Are you okay, Aelita?" The gentle hand he laid on her shoulder made her jump.  
"I..." Glancing about, she shook her head, I thought I heard something, but-"  
"That's because, miss, you did hear something." This time, the voice was much louder. Aelita blinked, and looked around again. Then her eyes settled on a figure that just appeared in the hallway. Her eyebrows went up.  
Tall and muscular with white-blond hair falling into dark eyes, the man smiled down at them as he pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against.  
"You have good ears, little lady, to hear me," he commented as he sauntered over, his hands in his pockets. "And lovely eyes too." He winked. Aelita, although unsure why, felt herself blush furiously at the complement.  
"I, I uh..." Confused by her own reaction, she simply smiled nervously.  
Next to her, Jeremie crossed his arms, and glancing from Aelita to the man and back again, he raised an eyebrow. "Can we help you, sir?"  
The man smiled wryly, cocking his head to one side. "I'm just a lost fellow, same as you. But perhaps I can help you." Jeremie stared at him, but the man shifted his gaze back to Aelita. "A flower for the lady?"  
Aelita blinked, still quite red. "E-excuse me?"  
The man smiled, and flicking his wrist, handed her a vivid pink rose that he seemed to create out of thin air. Aelita's eyes went as round as saucers, and even Jeremie looked impressed. Seeing the admiring look on Aelita's face as she gingerly took the rose, however, Jeremie's blue eyes narrowed.  
"Aelita?"  
The pink-haired girl blinked, and looked at Jeremie for the first time since the man appeared. She had to blink again to make her vision work properly. "Yes?" Why did her head hurt? "Jeremie?"  
"How can she look at that four-eyed geek when Edwin just gave her a rose?"  
A loud mutter echoed down the hall, and suddenly a group of girls, all whispering and giggling, filed out the double doors that lead to the stairs. Sissy Delmas was in the lead, a bright yellow rose dangling from her fingertips." Edwin, dear, isn't your show about to start?" She called, her voice now overly sweet. She twirled a strand of hair on a finger when the blond man turned look at her.  
"Of course, Sissy," he replied, smiling at her and winking. At the wink, the group of girls behind him all sighed and started giggling again. When the man looked back, Aelita and Jeremie had vanished. He sighed, then turned back to his fans. "Lead the way, ladies, lead the way."

"So that's the magician everyone was talking about," Aelita mused as she and Jeremie took refuge in the computer room they had slipped into. She looked at him, and raised her eyebrows. "Jeremie..." Smiling a little, she reached and teasingly rubbed the frown line between his eyebrows that caused by his unhappy expression. "You'll get wrinkles."  
"It looks like he's giving Odd a run for his money at being the new school flirt," Jeremie muttered, taking a step back from her. Fighting jealousy tooth and nail, he forced the frown to ease from his face.  
Aelita blinked, then smiled slightly. The rose the man had given her was still in her hand. She held up, then smelled it.  
"Ugh!"  
Jeremie stared at her as she clamped a hand to her nose. "Aelita?"  
She held out the rose to him, slowly taking her hand from her face. "It smells terrible! That's strange, it was quite nice when he first handed it to me."  
Just then, the door to the room slid open, and Yumi and Ulrich came sprinting in. Out of breath, the two leaned heavily against the door, gasping.  
"Are you guys okay?" Aelita and Jeremie went toward them. Ulich raised his head first.  
"Yeah, we just avoided getting run over by Sissy and her new fan club." He made a face. "Though I'm almost surprised you didn't join them," he added, looking at Yumi. The Japanese girl raised her head, and rolled her eyes.  
"As if I'd..." she hesitated, then held up something to her nose- a deep red rose.  
"Yumi-"  
It was too late for Aelita's warning. Yumi gasped, and started coughing hard. "Wh-what the- just a second ago, I thought it was r-real-"  
"Yeah," Ulrich muttered. "He gave you one too, Princess?" He asked, nodded to the pink flower Aelita still held in her hand. Aelita glanced at it, then winced and nodded. Ulrich and Jeremie traded looks for a second. "Cheap flirt," Ulrich muttered, shaking his head. "He makes Odd look like a prince."  
"Talking about Odd," Jeremie started, smiling a little. "Did you ever catch him?"  
Ulrich and Yumi blushed a little, and shook their heads. "He got swept up by the fan girls," Yumi explained as she tossed her rose into a garbage can. Aelita copied her. "Last thing I heard, he was shouting questions at that blond guy they're following, something about 'upping his own magic show'."  
"Talking about the show," Aelita said softly, glancing at her friends. "Do you guys want to go see it?" She looked at Jeremie. "I know you're not into smoke and mirrors, but it might be..."  
Jeremie hesitated, then seeing the hopefulness on her face, smiled and relented. "Well, he did pull a flower out of thin air, didn't he?"  
Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Maybe we'll get to see him try to cut Sissy in half."  
"Maybe he'll succeed!" Yumi remarked, her expression extremely hopeful. The other three laughed and walked out of the room.  
It took them far longer than they expected to find a seat in the auditorium. The whole place was packed, mostly with girls, from tiny sixth graders giggling nervously to high schoolers loudly yelling boasts back and forth about how attractive they thought the magician found them. Halfway down the room, Yumi almost ran headlong into Odd.  
"There you are!" He spun and put his hands on his hips. "I've been looking for you guys for ages!" Ulrich raised his eyebrows at his roommate.  
"I thought you were running from us," he remarked dryly, but Odd ignored him.  
"You should see this guy! He's insane! He's really good."  
"I think Odd wants to join his fan club," Jeremie muttered under his breath, and Aelita giggled.  
"That's what we're here to do, Odd," she reminded him, still smiling. Where are you sitting?" Odd pointed towards the front, then disappeared through the crowd. The others followed him, and eventually found a tiny group of seats in one corner that were empty. As they slid into the seats, Aelita hesitated, then turned to Jeremie.  
"Jeremie, I almost forgot to tell you, I found some papers of my..my father's the other day when we were cleaning up the Hermitage." Jeremie nodded. This was no surprise. They had been steadily cleaning up Aelita's old home for months now, hoping to hide every scrape of evidence that Franz Hopper as the creator of Lyoko and XANA, had ever existed. Every time they cleaned, they found more and more papers to hide. It was quite the task.  
Aelita fidgeted a little in her seat. "You...I should have brought them back to school. You might not..." she winced. "What they contain is pretty unbelievable, even for what we've seen. It's about who Daddy...who he worked with in the Carthage Project...but..."  
Jeremie watched her closely, concerned. He knew Aelita still missed her father, but she rarely acted so nervous and uncomfortable when talking about the research he had done. Concerned, he hesitated, then took her hand. Ignoring the jump of his heartbeat that happened as it always did when he touched her, he meet her eyes.  
"Aelita, what ever you found, I'm sure it's-"  
Just then, a loud boom echoed throughout the auditorium, and a hush went over the crowd.  
"Ladies and gentleman-" bellowed a voice from everywhere at once. "Prepare to be amazed, astounded and astonished, as you are about to witness one of the greatest magic shows on Earth! Kadic Academy, I present to you- Professor Edwin Strix!"  
The reply from the crowd was deafening. Girls screamed and screamed. Many stood on their seats, heedless to the yells of teachers who told them sit. The blond man from before, now dressed in a pure white trench coat trimmed with black, strode onto the stage, and bowed low. When he straightened, he waited patiently, smirking, until the din mellowed out.  
"Thank you, my friends," he said, his clear voice smoothing itself through the ears of the listeners. "I can promise you to be astounded, amazed, astonished, practically possessed by what you will see in this performance." His smile widened, and with a flick of his wrist, a bright white rose appeared in his hand. He kissed it, then held it over his head. "Magic, like love, like youth itself, can only last for a short while, and can only be seen by those who are ready to believe." He smiled, and a few girls sighed loud enough to create giggling. "Are you ready, my friends?" When the crowd's reply to the question died down, Strix's smile widened. "Then let the show begin!"


	3. Chapter 3

Odd simply couldn't take his eyes off of the magic man on stage. "Yeah!" he bellowed time and again whenever Strix succeeded in one of his tricks. This had to be the best magic show ever. Everything the guy did was perfect. He had to ask the guy later how he got his voice to boom out like that without ever shouting. He must have written a script before hand, Odd thought. How else would someone be able to come up with words that were so mesmerizing? When his head started to hurt, he ignored it. It had to be all the screaming from the girls. His gaze stayed riveted on the man on stage who slowly became little more than a white blur.

It wasn't the worst waste of time on the planet, Ulrich thought, about halfway through the show. Odd certainly seemed to be enjoying it, as the guy hadn't stopped yelling since the show started. Ulrich rolled his eyes, watching the stage with little interest. The tricks were cool, but Strix used too much show and flash for Ulrich's taste. He grinned wryly. No wonder Odd was amazed. Strix practically had the girls following his every move. Of course Kadic's resident punk casanova would want to learn from him, no matter how lame he seemed at first. Next to him, Yumi was watching, one eyebrow raised and her arms crossed. She glanced at him, and smirked. Ulrich smiled back, then almost jumped when he felt Yumi lightly lay her hand over his. Ulrich turned bright red, then forced his eyes back to the stage, trying to pretend to be unfazed. Instead, he got caught up in the show. How did Strix do that, he wondered, watching as the man open a hand to let four doves flit from his gasp like they had grown there. Not realizing his head at begun to hurt, he relaxed even as the magicians words began to echo in his ears.

The show, in Jeremie's opinion, was possibly the longest, most boring thing he had ever seen in his life. Strix threw more flirtatious innuendos out to the crowd than he did magic tricks, and all the three of the girls he picked to help him giggled so furiously that they even more useless and annoying the magician himself. Instead, all he could think about was the research Aelita had mentioned. She had seemed so worried about it. He glanced over at her, to see her watching the show with her head cocked to one side. He wondered vaguely what she was thinking, then realized she was watching him, not the show. He blushed, and smiled at her. It could have been the light, but he thought he saw her turn quite red. Smiling now, Aelita leaned her head on his shoulder. Not daring to move, Jeremie tried to turn his attention back to the stage, his heart pounding.  
"My dear friends!" Strix was yelling out to the crowd once more, and Jeremie, hoping the show was almost over, made himself at least pretend to be interested. The showman waved his hands flamboyantly, making it look as if multi-colored sparkles followed his fingers. How did he do that? Jeremie wondered, confused. Spark powder? Intrigued in-spite of himself he watched closely, not noticing when his head began to hurt.

The last trick performed, the curtain slid closed to thunderous cheers. Aelita sighed, and looked around. In front of her, Yumi stood slowly, and stretched. She glanced back at her and grinned. "What'd ya think, Aelita? Was it worth it?"  
"Of course it was," Odd interjected from his seat, not moving. "The coolest thing ever." Aelita and Yumi rolled their eyes at each other.  
"What about you, Ulrich?" Yumi looked down at her friend. He hadn't moved either. "Ulrich?"  
The boy blinked slowly, as if tired, then shrugged. "Odd's right. It was pretty cool." Yumi raised her eyebrows.  
"Even though they didn't cut Sissy in half?" When Ulrich didn't answer, she nudged him. "Don't fall asleep in the chair," she teased, but Ulrich just shrugged again.  
Aelita watched this, then rolled her eyes and looked over at Jeremie. The young man had his head down, and looked as if he was muttering to himself. Smiling, Aelita put a hand on his shoulder. "Jeremie, you can look now, it's over." To her surprise, he had no reaction. "Jeremie?" After a second, Jeremie shook his head slightly, then raised his gaze back up to the stage.  
"I wonder how he did some of those tricks," he mused softly. "It doesn't make much sense."  
Aelita sighed, raising her eyebrows and smiling. "Why is that, when all the other girls are fascinated by him, me and Yumi don't care and it's you three who act as if your mesmerized?" She pressed her hand down a little harder on Jeremie's shoulder. "We should get back to our rooms, before it's gets late."  
To her surprise, Jeremie shook his head. "No, you go. I have to ask Strix a question." Slowly, he stood, not looking Aelita in the eye. Surprised, Aelita stood back to let him by. In the row ahead, Ulrich and Odd were also standing.  
"Yeah, we can get some advice," Ulrich was saying, shrugging again. Perplexed, Yumi and Aelita looked at each other.  
"I guess I'll walk you back to your dorm," Yumi said, and Aelita nodded, glancing back as the three boys disappeared into the crowd surging towards backstage to find Strix. The smell of roses filled the air.  
"Is it just me, or did our magic ladies man give a rose to every single girl in the school?" Yumi muttered when they finally got out into the hallway. Aelita nodded.  
"He really is giving Odd a run for his money," she remarked, then looked back at the way they had came. "Not like he seems to care." She hesitated, then looked at her friend. "Yumi, don't you think it's a little weird that even the guys..."she stopped, unsure of what to say. "I mean, Jeremie didn't even seem to be paying attention through most of it. It was just at the end, he went all still. I tried to get his attention a couple times but, he was too into the show."  
Yumi stared at her. "Ulrich was like that too, I guess." She frowned, then shook her head. "Listen to us. We're being stupid. Strix is just a ladies man all the guys want to be like, I guess. He's very charismatic, but he has a good sense of humor, like Ulrich."  
Aelita smiled slightly. "He was very gentleman-like earlier when I first met him. It reminded me a little of Jeremie, I guess. Silly, huh?"  
Yumi grinned. "Yeah." She stopped, then smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, maybe." Aelita smiled, and nodded.  
"Night, Yumi. See you tomorrow." She waved, and the girls departed, and Aelita went into her room.

Aelita had the strangest dream. She was back in the auditorium, but all the lights were on. She could hear people cheering, but couldn't make out the words. Then, suddenly, the curtain opened.  
Strix was on stage again, but he wasn't alone. People, more people than she thought could fit on the stage, crowded around him. They all held out roses towards the magic man, who kissed each flower than threw them back into the crowd. One rose landed near her. Aelita moved forward, and picked it up.  
The thing wilted in her grasp. Aelita gasped and dropped it. Where the dead rose hit, black thorny veins grew out of the floor, rapidly reaching towards her. Aelita cried out in horror, and ran, trying to warn the people the stage.  
It was then when she saw the cages. Hundreds of them, filled with even more people holding out roses towards Strix. Familiar faces moved franticly behind the bars.  
"Jeremie!"  
Was that really him? He looked different, his face thinner, his eyes wide and staring. Aelita backed up in fear. No. That wasn't him at all. Other faces she thought she recognized started to turn toward her. Odd. Ulrich, Sissy. Milly. Tamia. All with gaunt faces. All with huge, blank eyes. All carrying roses. Aelita screamed, and started to run, only to feel the black veins wrap around her legs. "No!" No!" Aelita screamed-  
And her eyes flew open.  
"Oh...thank goodness," she breathed as she finally caught her breath. Thin sunlight filtered through the window, and she glanced the clock on her desk. It was six in the morning. Aelita sighed, knowing she wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon.  
"Well, I'll get up and get some cleaning done," she said softly as she pushed herself out of bed. As she got dressed, voices, soft and muttering, rose outside her door. Aelita raised her eyebrows, and when she was done, opened her door.  
The hallway was empty.  
Frowning now, Aelita slipped out of her room, and started off down the hallway. "That's funny," she muttered, looking around. "I swear I heard someone..." It was then she noticed that all the doors of the other dorms were still flung open. Aelita stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide.  
No one had came back from the magic show.


	4. Chapter 4

By the time she made her way to the cafeteria, the warning bells in Aelita's mind that had begun since she had woken up had escalated unto something akin to panic. Each room was empty, yet whispers flickered by her ears every few minutes. When she stopped to stare in disbelief at the silent benches and lonely trays packed up at the ends of the tables, she could have sworn she smelled roses.  
"Jeremie." Where was he? Where were they all? Her fists clenched even as a shiver of fear went down her spine. It was stupid, it was crazy. But there was only one place to look.  
She had to go back to the auditorium. She closed her eyes, shaking slightly. This was madness.  
Whispers floated down the hall, and she turned, her fingernails digging into her palms. She raised her head. It had been so long, such a long time since she had felt like this. Had it really been only two years? Why was this happening now? Just when they had begun to adjust, when they had begun to find, to remember, how it felt to be normal.  
Aelita took an unsteady breath, and began to make her way towards the auditorium.

What was wrong with his head? Jeremie shook himself, feeling exhausted. Why were people screaming? And why on earth did the whole place smell like florists shop? Then his eyes flashed open. The magic show.  
He looked around, his brain spinning with the movement. A darkened room. He felt something like rope around his legs and wrists, felt something warm and solid against his sides and back. What was going on? He tried to move, but found he was immobile. The movement made the pounding in his head only increase more. Where were his friends? Jeremie tried to look around again. Was Aelita in here somewhere, bound up like he was? The thought made him sick. He tried to move again, and felt something, someone next to him groan.  
Ulrich? Odd? Yumi? He couldn't recognize the voice. Someone he didn't know, maybe, one of the other students. He couldn't tell. Come on, you idiot, he told himself, and tried to move again. He had to find out what was going on. He had to find out of Aelita was alright. Even as the pain in his head grew, all he could think of was her.

When did the hallways in the school get so long? Chills went up her spine as she hurried towards the auditorium. It was so cold now, even though it was spring. She could almost see her breath come out as little white puffs as she went.  
"Stop..."  
Aelita paused, glancing around her. Voices, more whispers, shivered towards her on the air like ghosts.  
"Stop, little lady. Don't you want to play?"  
Her head snapped up, and she spun. Still no one was there. But she knew that voice. Strix had called her that.  
"Little lady...Aelita..."  
"I am not afraid," Aelita whispered, and started walking again. "I'm going crazy, but I will not be afraid."  
"Aelita..."  
"I am not afraid."  
"Aelita- Aelita!"  
Aelita froze, then spun. "Yumi!"  
Yumi sprinted toward her, eyes wide. "Aelita! Finally. Have you seen any of the guys yet?"  
Aelita shook her head, relief mixing in with panic. "No one's around. I think...I think they're still in the auditorium." Yumi nodded, catching her breath.  
"I was about to go check." She hesitated, then looked sidelong at the girl she now considered to be like a little sister to her. "Is it just me, or, does this whole mess stink of deja vu?"  
Aelita's eyes were bleak as she nodded. "It's impossible, Yumi. We watched Jeremie's program wipe out any trace of...of that program. We shut the super computer down. There should be nothing..." Shivers wracked her body, but she forced the fear down. "And yet..."  
Yumi watched her, her eyes narrowed. "Let's ignore the 'and yet' for now, okay, Princess?" Her fists clenched. "We've got our guys to find."  
"Them and the rest of the school," Aelita said softly, as they began to walk. "No one is around. I looked everywhere. It's like a ghost town."  
Ghosts. Aelita's eyes widened. Ghosts. No. It couldn't possible. Couldn't it?  
Yumi must've noticed Aelita's face go pale, because she stopped. "What's wrong?"  
Aelita blinked, then shook her head. "Nothing," she muttered, confused. "I...it's nothing, I think." Yumi nodded.  
Whispers skidded around them, and both girls froze. "Did you hear that?" Yumi asked, glancing around.  
Aelita nodded, shuddering. "That's been happening since I got up. I thought I was going crazy." To her shame, a sob forced it's way into her throat. "W-where could they be?" She shook her head, trembling. "What if they're hurt, what if...I...Jeremie..." she hissed out a breath, then clenched her fists again. "I'm sorry, I'm not doing anyone any good by having a meltdown." She looked at Yumi, not noticing the awe and surprise in her friends gaze. "Lets go."

Was it just him, or did his legs feel like they were able to move a little more. Jeremie clenched his teeth against the headache and moved again. There. Defiantly. Who ever was tied to him groaned again, and Jeremie was able to twist around enough to see a familiar head of brown hair.  
"Ulrich. Ulrich!" He hissed, moving again. "Ulrich! Wake up!"  
Ulrich muttered something, but didn't move. Jeremie cursed softly, and tried again.

Aelita shook from head to toe, but she barely noticed it. Together, she and Yumi stood in front of the doors to the auditorium. Glancing at each other once, they reached out together, and grasped the handles.  
Lightening, black and flashing, leapt out at them, scalding their finger tips. Yumi swore and leaped back. Aelita gasped, but held on tight.  
"Let us in!" She shouted, even as she felt the sparks climb over her skin. "Let us in!"  
For a second, Aelita thought she would be burnt to a crisp, electrocuted. Then, to her shock, the doors flew open, knocking her back to the opposing wall.  
"Ladies, ladies. I've been waiting for you!"  
Handsome, still dressed in his white robe from the show, Strix smiled warmly at the two girls staring at him. Behind him stood at least fifty students, all clutching roses and muttering among themselves. A shiver went through the air. They were as thin and hypnotized looking as they had been in Aelita's nightmare. They moved around him as if under a thrall.  
Strix smiled when Yumi started toward him, when Aelita straightened slowly, her eyes narrowed and furious.  
"Have you now?" Yumi asked, pausing to cross her arms. "Why us, when you have..." she gestured towards the wide-eyed mob behind the magic man. "Your devoted fan club?" It was as if nothing was wrong. The only emotion in Yumi's voice was a wry curiosity.  
Strix's smile widened, and he shrugged. "Greed, I guess, miss," he answered, and winked at her. "Surely you understand that. Half the boys in this school dream about the lovely, exotic, strong Yumi Ishyama. But, no. She only devotes herself to one." He sighed. "Such a pity." Then he turned his smile onto Aelita, who backed up a step in-spite of herself. "Then there's you, little lady. Lovely and brilliant, with three forths of the male population of this pathetic school panting at your heels. But you don't even notice, do you?" He moved forward, and tilted her chin up. THe touch sent shivers of disgust through her, yet she couldn't move away. "How could you, when you know you were never meant to be loved? To even been seen by other humans when you are barely human yourself."  
Aelita's eyes widened, and as a thousand thoughts churned her head, she met Strix's eyes. Wide and white, with three circles serving as pupils. Strix's smile widened.  
"Not so strong, are you now, little Princess?"  
Aelita took a step back. "Nor are you," she hissed. Then, with a scream, she flung her hands out towards the magic man.  
And pink electricity threw itself at her enemy, streaming from her fingers. There was music in the air now, a song she hadn't heard in years.  
"Yumi! Run!" Was that really her voice? Singing? Screaming?  
She thought she saw Yumi turn and race down the hall, and the mob that had followed Strix now ran after her, screaming in voices no longer human.  
Then she turned her eyes back in her enemy, and took a step forward.  
"Hello again. X.A.N.A."


	5. Chapter 5

Yumi thought she heard Aelita scream, but it could have been her imagination. All she knew was that she had a mob of crazy students racing after her, all screaming and hissing like a vat of snakes.  
She chanced a glance back, saw the wide, staring dead eyes of her classmates, and ran faster.  
The whole place stank of roses.  
Before she knew it, she had burst through the double doors that lead through the cafeteria onto the grounds. It was pouring down rain. Cursing, she yanked the hood of her sweatshirt over her head and kept running. It took her a number of steps before she realized the screaming and hissing had stopped all together. Yumi slowed down, glancing back over her shoulder.  
The mob had stopped. Some had fallen into the mud, and were grumbling.  
Their eyes. Yumi took a step back in disbelief. They had returned to normal.  
"Yumi?"  
She jumped about a foot, and saw Azra, one of the girls Odd always hit on, staring at her and rubbing her forehead. "Why are we all out in the middle of the rain?"  
"What is going on?" A high shriek split the air, and Sissy, splattered with mud, shoved her way through the crowd, still holding the rose Strix had given her.  
Yumi's eyes widened. "The roses," she muttered, and Sissy glared at her.  
"Yumi! What'd you and your stupid group of friends do now?"  
Yumi ignored the insult, and pointed at the rose Sissy held in her hand. "It was the roses he gave us," she whispered to herself, her eyes widening. "They had some sort of drug in them, something that only is strong enough when they're right with him. When they get away from him, the effect fades off." She shook her head. "This is crazy. Why would Strix want to hypnotize us all?"  
"Why does my head hurt?" asked Milly a few feet away. Frowning, she lifted up the light pink rose she held in her hand, and sniffed it. Disgust flew across her face, and she threw the rose away from her. "Ugh! What happened to it! It smells awful!" Noticing this, other girls smelled the roses, only to discard them. Yumi watched this, her head spinning. Where were the boys in this mess, she wondered. Strix hadn't given them roses, so...  
They had gone backstage after the show, hadn't they, Yumi realized with a start. Her heart started to pound as she looked back at the way she had came. They had followed the crowd, all going on about how they wanted advice from Strix.  
What if they were still back there?

Strix began to laugh.  
"X.A.N.A.?"  
Aelita stared, terrified and surprised by the reaction. After a moment, he sobered enough to smirk at the pink-haired teen in front of him.  
"Close enough, little lady, but not quite." He winked at her and moved closer, ignoring the traces of pink sparks that still darted around her fingers. Aelita moved back, and raised a hand in warning.  
"I may not be on Lyoko, but I can still blast you back to the virtual hell you came from," she hissed, but the threat only made Strix laugh again.  
"I'm sure you could, if I was what you think I am. But, little girl, you should know more about hell than any human here," he said, still chuckling as he spread his arms out wide. "Why, I'm sure your precious father is there himself."  
Aelita's eyes narrowed even as pain and sorrow shot through her heart. "Don't you dare speak of my father that way. He was a genius, and helped people-"  
"So naive, little lady," the magic man tisked, shaking his head. "He helped himself more than he helped others. He never told you, did he, how he had friends who he let die because they knew about his plan, his mad scientist experiments, his plans to eliminate Carthage and all it stood for." Strix's smile widened. "No, I am not an artificial life form, my dear. I am simply revenge, back to take my own." He reached out, and traced a finger down her face. "And what a lovely revenge it is to."  
"You betrayed him."  
For a moment, Strix looked taken aback. Aelita took a step backwards, away from the cold finger tip that made her skin prickle painfully. "I?" He tilted his head to one side. "I was his best friend, little lady. His partner. Everything."  
Aelita nodded. It was starting to make sense, what she had read in her father's house the other day. A cold chill of dread went up her spine. It all fit into place. "He tried to tell you about Lyoko, didn't he? Strix was your real name then too, wasn't it?"  
Strix's mad eyes widened, then narrowed. "How do you know this?"  
"I remember you, I think. I was barely a toddler. But there was a blond man, loud and happy, who he introduced me too once." Her tone was conversation, her eyes suddenly very sad and far away. She shook her head. "I had forgotten." She looked him straight in the eyes. "He told you about everything, and you said he was crazy, didn't you?"  
Strix actually backed up a step, his handsome face contorted into a ugly mask of fury and madness. "It was far ahead of anything the other fools in the group would have ever dreams, you little idiot," he hissed, glaring at her. "I had to stop him. It was for his own good."  
Aelita shook her head. "You let it slip, the idea that someone in Project Carthage was a traitor. Father knew it was you, he knew it all along. You betrayed him, not him you."  
"He watched me die," Strix hissed, black sparks coming into his spiraled, empty eyes.  
"He tried to help you!" Her father's written words swelled into her memory as tears of anger and sorrow glittered down her face. She barely knew she was crying. "Don't you remember? He defended you, even though you betrayed him."  
"Shut up!"  
Black lightening shot from Strix's hands, hit Aelita hard in the chest. She fell backward, shouting in pain, and hit the opposite wall.  
"Shut up! He betrayed me! He watched me die, told lies! He should've died!"  
Her body screaming at her to stay still, Aelita forced herself to stand, and looked at the ghost in front of her. She shook her head again, slowly. "I almost feel sorry for you," she said softly, seeing more black lighting fill the palms still held out toward her. "Have you always been possessed like this? Even in death, you're a prisoner, aren't you?" She spoke to him as if he were a child. "You can't forgive him for not telling you sooner, not letting you in on the little secret." She smiled wryly, sadly. "You say I know all about hell. I know all about secrets too, Strix. And some secrets are better off kept hidden."  
"He lied to me! Betrayed me!"  
Aelita held out a hand, ignore the pain in her heart and head. "The only one to betray you, was you." Closing her eyes, she pushed with all her mind.  
Strix let out a screech, and Aelita opened her eyes to see a blackened figure in front of her, as pink and black sparks warred over his body for domination. Terrified and exhausted, she slumped against the wall.  
"Let them go, Strix," she whispered, her eyes still on the monster that hatred and jealousy had turned a man into. "Taking revenge on me will do you no good. Not anymore."  
With a flash and a scream, Strix vanished, leaving only the smell of sulfur and rotten roses in the air.  
Aelita fell to her knees, then fainted.


	6. Chapter 6

"Remind me again what's going on?"  
Jeremie clenched his fists and made himself count to ten. Wondering waspishly if the spell Strix had put on them had also permanently addled Ulrich's brain, he turned slowly and looked down at his friend.  
"Strix hypnotized us," he repeated for what felt like the tenth time. Ulrich stared up at him, blinking slowly, rope still laying haphazerdly across his ankles. "I don't know why and I'm not sure how. All I know is that we've got to get out of here. I don't know where Aelita is, or where Yumi is. They may be around here somewhere, or..." he stopped himself, not wanting to think about the possiablities. Instead, he guestered to Odd, who was still snoring away out cold next to Ulrich. "You know how to wake him up, don't you?" He glanced around the dark room they where in. He could see huddled shapes of more sleeping students, but something told him waking them all up wouldn't be a good idea.  
"Uh, yeah, I-"  
"Wait a second," Jeremie said sharply, frowning. "Did you hear that?"  
Ulrich sighed, and stood slowly. "Hear what?"  
Jeremie stood stock still for a second, listening.  
Thud. Thud-Thud.  
"That."  
Ulrich nodded, glancing around. "It sounds like someone's pounding on a door somewhere." He leaned over Odd and started shaking him.  
No doors were visible, as far as Jeremie could see. Squinting to see through the lack of light and his glasses, Jeremie started walking gingerly around the room, searching for a seam in the wall that would outline a door.  
Thud. Thud-Thud-Thud. THUD.  
Jeremie's head shot up. The last pounding had been louder than the others. He was getting closer. He speed up- and almost fell right into the door.  
"Jeremie!" From back in the corner where he had started, Jeremie heard Ulrich called out quietly. "You okay?"  
"Yeah," Jeremie called back, adjusting his glasses. For the first time in hours, a smile moved onto his face. "I just found our way out."  
THUD- THUD.  
"Hello?"  
Jeremie's eyes widened. "Ulrich-" he looked back at his friend, and saw Ulrich slowly pulling Odd to his feet. "Ulrich, I think somebody's out here, trying to get in!"  
"Is it Strix?" Ulrich called back, supported his still half-asleep roommate on his shoulder.  
Jeremie frowned, and after a second, pounded the wall.  
Thud. "Hello? Is somebody there?" It was defiantly a voice. Muffled and quiet, but understandable. And close. Jeremie's eyes widened.  
"It sounds like a girl."  
Another thud sounded from the opposite side. "Hey, can you hear me? Pound back if you do."  
Jeremie thudded against the wall again. "Who are you?"  
A pause.  
"Jeremie?"  
The voice, louder now and surprised, registered in his brain, and Jeremie almost yelled with relief. "Yumi! Holy crap, I'm glad to hear your voice! How are you? Where's Aelita? What's happened?"  
"Hold on, there's a door here, I-"  
The next second, dim light filled the room, and Jeremie was almost hit in the head by the metal door that swung open. Backing up, he stared as Yumi stood in the doorway, panting.  
"Yumi?" Before Jeremie could take another step forward to greet her, Ulrich was past him and grabbing Yumi into a hug. Yumi wheezed out a laugh and hugged back.  
"I'm glad to see you guys are okay!" She whispered when Ulrich released her. It could have been the light, but Jeremie thought both of them were blushing vibrantly as they parted. "I wasn't sure if I'd ever find you."  
"Yumi, what's going on?" Ulrich asked quickly, not taking his eyes off her.  
Yumi looked from him to Jeremie and back again. "Uh, well, me and Aelita tried to get in the auditorium to find you guys, and well..." she took a breath. "It looks as if Strix was some how X.A.N.A.-fied or something, and all the girls were possessed by the roses he had given them. He attacked us, but Aelita fought back and-"  
"She fought back?" Jeremie's eyes went wide. "What happened?"  
Yumi shook her head. "It was like her powers in Lyoko. You remember, the energy fields and the singing?" Jeremie and Ulrich nodded. "It was like that. She just lashed out, hummed something, and pink lightening blasted him. She told me to run, so I did."  
"You left her alone?" Jeremie's eyes narrowed in fury, ignoring the glare Ulrich sent him.  
Yumi winced. "She told me too, Jeremie, and it was a good idea. Strix's entire fan club followed me, and once they got far enough away from him, the spell on those roses wore off. Like when he tried to give them to Aelita and me, remember? When he left, the roses he had given us didn't smell right anymore. That must have been the spell fading away. The girls don't remember him at all, I don't think," she added, biting her lip. "Even Sissy acted oblivious."  
Ulrich nodded. "That's a relief-"  
Jeremie shook his head, cutting him off. His head was spinning. "Get Odd, you too. We have to find Aelita."

Everything hurt.  
Was it possible to feel this much pain?  
Aelita winced, but made herself open her eyes. Her vision wavered, then held. Where was Strix? Had he really vanished? Bitting her lip against the pain still shooting through her, she looked around.  
"Yumi?" Her voice squeaked and her throat hurt, but she tried again. "Yumi? Somebody?"  
Panic began to surge again. What if that mob had gotten Yumi? And what had happened to the other guys?  
"Anybody?" Hating herself for it, a tear leaked down her cheek. "Jeremie?"  
Not expecting an answer, she clenched her fists, and ordered her knees to bend, then straighten.  
I will not cry, she told herself firmly. I've been shot down by creepers and felt way worse pain than this. Stop being a baby, Aelita! After a number of wobbling tries, Aelita finally was able to push herself into a standing position. Muscles that been asleep pulled and jerked, but Aelita ignored it. She hesitated, then, took a deep breath.  
"Hello?"  
The echos of her own voice bounced back at her. Another tear threatened to fall, but she started to it wipe away- and froze.  
There were whispers in the air again.  
Aelita closed her eyes, listening. Was she really going mad this time?  
"-shut up and keep walking-"  
"But I'm so hungry! Can't we at least stop by the cafeteria or something?"  
"We have to find Aelita- Yumi, you're sure you went this way?"  
"Yes, I-"  
"Aelita! Aelita, where are you?"  
Hope, stronger than any pain still lingering, inflated her heart like a balloon. "Jeremie?"  
A pause. "Aelita?"  
There were footsteps now, to her left, and Aelita turned, hoping and praying. "Jeremie? Yumi? You guys?"  
There they were. All four of them. Yumi was covered in mud, and Odd looked as if he was barely awake. Ulrich was holding him up, still trying to get him keep walking. Jeremie was in the lead, his eyes wide and shimmering behind his glasses. Aelita's heart expanded, and with a happy yell, she launched herself at her friends.  
Jeremie caught her, and both of them forgot to be nervous or embarrassed when he pulled her close and just held her. Aelita sighed happily, feeling wetness against the top of her head. She pulled back, and looked at Jeremie. Tears coursed down his young face, and Aelita, unthinking, caught one on her fingertip. She smiled.  
"And you said you don't believe in magic," she whispered, aware and not caring that she was crying too. Jeremie smiled.  
"Maybe I do now."

Hours later, their group sat in the Hermitage, a building the five of them hadn't been together in in over two years.  
"So our magic man was a ghost?" Odd asked, staring at Aelita.  
Aelita nodded, shivering slightly. Jeremie, sitting next to her, hesitantly put an arm around her shoulders. Aelita blushed, and moved a little closer. "Yes, Odd," she replied, smiling a little. "When I read the other day about Daddy's experience with Strix and how the super-computer holds energy-"  
"Wait, wait, what?" Ulrich threw up his hands. "Back up, Princess. The super-computer does what?"  
Aelita sighed slightly. "You know that the super computer could absorb energy from other computers, right?" They all nodded. "Well, Father had a theory that..." she shook her head. "He thought it may absorb strong emotions as well. Passion, anger, sorrow. Really powerful stuff. I guess it sends off an energy that X.A.N.A. could feed on."  
"That makes sense," Yumi said after a moment. "Remember how he always tried to make us angry at each other? He created so much drama in our group, trying to split us apart."  
"So he fed off of that?" Odd asked incredulously. "Like some kind of energy vampire."  
Aelita nodded, then shuddered. "I know it sounds crazy," she started, glancing at Jeremie. He smiled for her, and patted her shoulder.  
"Yumi's right, Aelita," he told her. "It does make sense. So Strix's anger at your father when he died, since he thought he was betrayed, must have really been X.A.N.A.'s first taste of human emotion."  
Aelita nodded, and fought down another shiver at the thought. "He was the first, so it's not surprising that he had power that was similar, although much weaker, than X.A.N.A.'s."  
"So, what do we do?" Ulrich asked, frowning. "Do we turn the super computer back on?"  
Aelita and Jeremie exchanged glances. "We...I'm not sure yet," Aelita admitted, shrugging. "But if Strix was the first, there may be others in there."  
"Your father?" Yumi watched Aelita's face closely. Aelita smiled sadly, and shook her head.  
"My mother. I don't remember what happened to her, but I think she was..." she took a shaking breath and went on. Jeremie squeezed her hand gently. "I think it's possible that part of her energy is still that machine."  
"Again I repeat," Ulrich said, raising his eyebrows. "Do we turn the super computer back on?"  
Aelita shook her head, then looked around her four best friends. "I don't know, Ulrich. All I know is this is a lot different from what we faced before. It's not over." She bit her lip, hesitating. "If you guys...I know we just started getting back into..well, being normal, I guess." She shrugged. "I mean, if..."  
"Don't you even try that road, Princess," Odd said suddenly, shaking his head. "We're in this. We always have been." Yumi and Ulrich nodded.  
"Life was starting to get boring," Ulrich added, and grinned.  
Aelita looked at Jeremie, fear, love, joy and excitement all tangling her heart. "The game has changed," he told her, his eyebrows raising. "But that doesn't mean we quit."  
Aelita smiled, and raised her gaze back to all of them. Her friends. Her comrades.  
"No, we don't quit. We evolve."

...

Thank you Very Very for reading! 3 Long Live Code Lyoko, J/A, true magick, and the Evolution! 3


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